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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27992556">sit down beside me (and stay a while)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_screaming/pseuds/fangirl_screaming'>fangirl_screaming</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Last Kids on Earth (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Headcanons Involved, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Season/Series 03, Tree Climbing, a little after season 3, god i love them sm, hurt june hURT JUNE, mmm yes we love that, no beta we die like my motivation in online clssses, this took me WAYYY longer than it should have, title from a song</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:22:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,196</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27992556</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_screaming/pseuds/fangirl_screaming</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <q>She has the biggest hope she has every had she'll reunite with more people—more survivors, maybe even her parents—after what feels like literal <em>eternity</em>! She should be happy!<br/> <br/><q>Yet… she's not. She's scared. She's concerned. More than she has ever felt in the apocalypse.</q></q>
</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>June Del Toro/Jack Sullivan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>sit down beside me (and stay a while)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=the+talu+to+my+solin+%E2%99%A1">the talu to my solin ♡</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>gOD im so sorry for my hiatus but i finally completed this!!! and i sold my soul in the process so i hope it's good akhdjfhhgje</p><p>title from sit down beside me by patrick watson</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>June's… scared.</p><p><br/>
More than she wants to admit. It's not like it's <em>easy</em> to admit, either.</p><p><br/>
<em>All</em> that searching and scouting and scouring, yet they still can't find anything about her parents. There is absolutely <em>nothing</em> about them. Not even a small clue, a sign or a note. Nothing. As if they vanished into thin air.</p><p><br/>
It's been <em>months</em> since the apocalypse started.</p><p><br/>
Jack says that he's hopeful. He says, he promises that they’ll find them, that they’re alive and well and have to be somewhere. That they’re searching for her just as eagerly as she's searching for them. Quint and Dirk do their best to keep her hopes up too. </p><p><br/>
And yes, she believes that! More than anyone else in the group.</p><p><br/>
Yet; as she desperately gasps for air from where she's lying on, as tears threaten to run down her cheeks and as her throat tightens itself into a knot, it's hard to cling to that.</p><p><br/>
She has the biggest hope she has every had throughout the apocalypse! Soon, she'll reunite with more people—more survivors, maybe even her parents—after what feels like literal <em>eternity</em>!</p><p>She should be happy! </p><p><br/>
Yet… she's not. She's scared. She's concerned. More than she has ever felt in the apocalypse.</p><p><br/>
Maybe it's because she knows she has too much to lose now. The first days of the apocalypse—a week in or so— she didn't really know what to do, didn’t really know what her future would be. Now, she does; she has her priorities, her goals set and loaded. And she doesn’t want to lose them.</p><p><br/>
It’s ironic. Like a very bitter irony, the kind that leaves a bad taste in your mouth like you have just eaten something stale. </p><p><br/>
She tosses and turns in her bed, takes deep breaths, and tries to calm herself down. Her heart thumps fast and hard in her chest, her ears ring. She squeezes her eyes shut and tries to go back to sleep.</p><p><br/>
“That was not real,” she whispers to herself in a (desperate) attempt to forget. “My parents are alive, and well, and they’re waiting for me <em>somewhere</em>. They have to be.” </p><p><br/>
<em>‘But what if they aren't?’</em> The sinister fragments of the nightmare echo in her mind, and they’re <em>grinning</em> as they speak so. Frames flash in front of her eyes, terrifying frames that engraved themselves in her subconscious. <em>‘What if the dream is real, and is just warning you? What if they’re dead because you were too late? What if they’re dead because you haven't been searching hard enough? What if they’re dead because of you?’</em></p><p><br/>
Her breath hitches.</p><p><br/>
<em>‘What will you do then? You'll have no one you'll be able to go back to, you'll be all on your own!’</em>
</p><p><br/>
She can't pinpoint when tears started rolling down her cheeks or when she started sobbing and  buried her face in her hands. She feels the malicious mix of dread, grief and despair spread throughout her. It's like a bucket of ice cold water being poured down over her head; it freezes, it numbs, it hurts.</p><p><br/>
She hears the door creak, and her sobs pause with a sharp gasp. A silhouette stands at the doorway, their eyes lock. Even from the dark, she can distinguish the boy's familiar features. A round face, round nose, black hair and a curious glance special to him.</p><p><br/>
“June..?” whispers Jack as he approaches the girl's bed, his curious expression turns into a rightfully concerned one. The girl takes a deep breath and swallows the rest of her sobs, rubbing the tears away from her face with a quick sweep of her sleeve. She feels the mattress dip somewhere next to her, and she can't muster up the bravery to look her friend in the eye.</p><p><br/>
The duo stays in silence for what feels like hours (but in reality, it's only for approximately five minutes). </p><p><br/>
Then, Jack finally speaks, his voice as soft and quiet like a feather landing on somewhere. “Do you mind coming with me for a little while?”</p><p><br/>
June jolts a little with the sudden whisper puncturing through the silence, but shrugs. “Okay…” Her voice comes out barely louder than a mumble. She feels Jack's warm hand wrap around her wrist and gently pull her out of her bed. They start making their way through the small house. They stop in front of the boy's corner to… get an oversized jacket ? (Normally, June <em>would</em> have asked why Jack didn't tell her to get her blanket, but she decides not to.)</p><p><br/>
They reach the small wooden porch that surrounds the house, and the chilly breeze hits against their bodies. June shivers as she snuggles tighter to her blue cardigan.</p><p><br/>
The black haired boy lets go of her wrist to fling the jacket towards the tree as far as he can. Then, he proceeds to prop one of his feet on the rail of the fence around the platform; and with the force he gets from the fence, he leaps. Resting his feet on the rim of the windows for just a split second, he adds more momentum to himself and June realizes she hasn't been giving Jack enough credit for his improvement in his sportiness. After he finally reaches the top of the house, he turns to the girl—who's been watching him with awe mixed with confusion —and stretches his arms. “Do what I just did. I'll pull you up.” </p><p><br/>
“Okay.” June puts a foot on the fence and jumps and aims for the windows. She does another vault from the window rims and feels Jack’s cold, clammy hands firmly grasp hers. She feels herself getting pulled towards the top of the house. She finally gets towards the edge and hikes herself up, letting go of Jack's hands in the process. </p><p><br/>
Shortly after, he duo starts climbing on the tree, to the thickest branch that can carry them, and sit (they don't forget the jacket too, which had landed on a branch a little below them). From between the thin branches above them, they can see they there is not a single cloud in the sky tonight, the full moon’s friendly face beams at them as the stars above them glitter playfully. It’s a majestic sight, June can't help but gasp in wonder. The chill seeps through their bones as the wind brushes past their bodies as if mother nature's dragging icy fingers against them. The feint smell of iodine fills in her lungs, and she puffs out a small cloud of steam.</p><p><br/>
From the corner of her eye, she sees the boy shuffle and the next second she feels a warm heaviness over her shoulders, and she realizes Jack's wrapping the jacket around her. She feels blood rushing to her cheeks, and she takes a sharp breath. The jacket smells like… Oreos. Mixed another kind of chocolate bar, with some caramel. Snickers? June can’t quite place the brand. It's an unusual smell for a jacket, but it's sweet and oddly soothing. </p><p><br/>
Just like Jack.</p><p><br/>
The boy chuckles at her reaction, and starts speaking. “Well… ever since I was a kid, I'd climb up to the roofs of the houses I lived in whenever I was feeling sad, and watch the stars. I don't know what particularly drew me to them, but I guess they’d feel like far away friends, winking down at me and wanting to listen what's wrong. I… guess I felt like you needed that too. Maybe talking will help getting it out of your head.”</p><p><br/>
A small smile makes it’s way to her lips. “Thanks Jack. I… really appreciate it.” A little more passes with silence. </p><p><br/>
“I've been having bad nightmares lately,” the girl starts after a deep breath. She’s startled by how hoarse her voice is. “A-about my p-parents being… well, dead. And u-us being too… too late to save them o-or to do anything. I-I know you and the others say you guys are hopeful about finding them, and I am hopeful too! I want to find them and be with them more than anything right now, but… it's scary and it's so freaking scary that I…A-and I start thinking what if they are actually dead, and I'm just chasing after this… this pointless dream and…” She feels tears well up again, and she trails off. She feels Jack's hand rubbing circles on her back in an attempt to soothe her.</p><p><br/>
“Well… I can't imagine how scary it must be for you,” the boy starts after a while of silence, his gaze drifts off to the scenery in front of them. “This whole… monster apocalypse is scary in and of itself. None of us have faced anything like this before, a-and we're just kids. It's normal. And, well… you heard the lady from the radio. She said that she and her group caught many more signals, and what are the odds that your parents aren't one of them? Until we find a concrete answer, we're not going to stop searching for them. You have all of our support. And, well, whatever happens… know that I'll always stay by your side.”</p><p><br/>
Without a warning, June lunges at the black-haired boy and wraps her arms around him <em>tight</em>, knocking the air out of his lungs. He feels tears wet his shoulder as she puts her head on his shoulder.</p><p><br/>
He hugs back as well and lets out a small sigh to hide the fact that his heart rate is <em>skyrocketing</em> at the moment. Blood flushes his cheeks. A giddy feeling twinges in his chest and butterflies shoot through the pit of his stomach as his arms embracing her tightens. </p><p><br/>
They stay like that for what feels like forever, however, it’s only for a few minutes.</p><p><br/>
Another few minutes elongated by the comfortable silence that has wrapped them like a cozy blanket pass by. Though, it’s enough for both of them. More than enough.<br/>
June feels lighter, as if a huge back filled with iron marbles has been lifted over her lungs. She can breathe better now, the huge knot in her throat unravels itself as she takes another deep breath which quickly turns into a puff of steam.</p><p><br/>
She rubs her face with her sleeve, and talks, looking at Jack with one of the warmest and most grateful smiles he has ever seen on her face. “Thank you so much, Jack. I seriously can't say how much it means to me.”</p><p><br/>
Their eyes lock, and the boy forgets to breathe for a minute. He tries to mask his awkwardness with a small cough, and smiles back. “Hey, don't mention it.”</p><p><br/>
A particularly strong gust of wind slashes against them, and the girl shivers, snuggling to the jacket even further.</p><p><br/>
<em>Wait… if I'm like this, then he’s…</em>
</p><p><br/>
June sneaks a glance at Jack to see that his arms are crossed in front of his chest, the tip of his nose tinted with a rosy red and shivering. A sigh leaves her lips and her breath quickly turns into a puff of smoke, accompanied by a smile making its way to her lips.</p><p><br/>
“Hey.” He turns to her as she lifts the left shoulder of the jacket. “C'mere, you dork. I can see you’re shivering.” The boy’s mouth—open to detest—slowly closes, and with a defeated sigh, he scoots closer. He slouches his shoulders forward the tiniest bit to fit in the jacket with the girl (one of the only advantages Jack had against her is being like two inches taller than her) and uh… she has <em>definitely</em> miscalculated how close they would be.</p><p><br/>
(Not that she’s unfamiliar to small touches and hugs and stuff like that, but this… just feels <em>different</em>.) </p><p><br/>
He smells just like the jacket, but a bit denser. Oh, and there’s definitely the most feint traces of… mint car smell? Again, it’s weird but calming—in a way only Jack can be.</p><p><br/>
Her breath gets stuck in her throat for a split second when she feels Jack's cold (and still clammy) hand rest gently on top of hers. He quickly looks away from the girl, bracing himself for a (possible) hand pull and a weirded out “What are you doing?!”.</p><p><br/>
But they never come.</p><p><br/>
On the contrary, June slowly pulls her thumb out from under the boy’s palm and lightly places it on his knuckles, her fingertip traces small circles against them. She feels him tense up for just a few seconds before relaxing. </p><p><br/>
None of them move. None of them have the courage to look at the other’s eyes (who would, really?). None of them speak.</p><p><br/>
Though, they stay like that; hands on top of each other, the only thing that disrupts the silence between them being the soft whistles of the breeze. </p><p><br/>
June sneaks a glance at the boy when she hears snoring beside her, and chuckles. His eyes are closed and his head is slumping forward, the small tuft of hair that falls in front of his eyes constantly rise and fall.</p><p><br/>
She feels… at ease. Safe. Happy. And before she knows what’s happening, her eyes close and she’s captured by the soft paws of an undisturbed, comfortable sleep.  </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>headcanon that jack smells like oreos and snickers; and headcanon that the jacket used to belong to jack's (dead) father. i WAS going to write that into the fic but i didn't know where exactly, so i just left it out. </p><p>thank you for reading! hope you enjoyed it :)</p><p>also should i be concerned about the fact that this is the third nightmare hurt comfort fic i've written in a row?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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